Call to Action: Love Letters 4 Our Planet

One of the most common questions people ask when I talk to them about climate change is: but what can I do about it? Here is a great way to get involved in a simple, painless, yet profound way. It will only take a few minutes of you and your child's time, a piece of paper, an envelope, and a postage stamp. All the details are below, and there is also a video to watch at the bottom.

WHO: Love Letters 4 Our Planet

WHAT: Kids age 10-17 are sought to write letters to the incoming Western Washington University freshmen class urging them to be their voice in an upcoming local election for the Whatcom County Council. The Council has the power to issue or deny permits for a new coal export facility. This is a decision that will have national and international implications and determine the future of American coal (and CO2 emissions exported to other countries due to the coal). WWU has 15,000 incoming freshman that are eligible to register to vote in that election.

WHEN: The deadline for writing letters is September 20th, this will allow Love Letters 4 Our Planet time to hand deliver them to WWU freshmen before the voter registration deadline.

WHY: Just north of the city of Bellingham in Whatcom County, Washington there is a site for a proposed $600 million port, the Gateway Pacific Terminal, which, if constructed, would ship 48 million tons of coal annually from Wyoming and Montana to Asia—enough to power 15 to 20 new coal-fired power plants a year. Coal use is in steep decline in the United States as power plants switch over to natural gas. The coal industry is looking to export American coal to Asia as a way to keep the industry alive. This is bad news for carbon emissions and the climate.

The proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal must secure some permits from the Whatcom County Council, which is why the upcoming election is so important. For more on the subject click here and here.

HOW: Kids ages 10-17 can write a letter to a WWU freshman urging them to register to vote in the Whatcom County Council election. Please include these three points:

1. I care about stopping global warming because...
2. Whatcom County Council gets to decide on the coal export project, which is one of the most important ways we can stop global warming.
3. I'm not old enough to vote, but this matters to my future, so please be my voice and register to vote at www.sos.wa.gov by October 7 so you can help stop the Coal Terminal.

Mail your child's letter by September 20th to:

Love Letters 4 Our Planet

PO Box 1091

Bellingham, WA 98227

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If you are a registered Whatcom County voter and wondering about the candidates running for Whatcom County Council read the paragraphs below:

Although the candidates are constrained from saying how they would vote on the coal port, they can telegraph their views in many ways, and I think our voting choices are pretty clear, at least in terms of more or less likely to vote down the coal port. Let's do what we can as individuals in our community to make sure the names in bold below are elected.

Kathy Kershner vs. Barry Buchanan for Position 1A
Kershner is the conservative currently chairing the County Council Buchanan is the Democrat challenger, formerly having served on the Bellingham City Council. At the recent Whatcom Democrats Endorsement meeting, Barry said, "Climate change is killing people in Oklahoma and the Jersey Shore. I definitely oppose the export of coal.” (hopefully making this clear statement won't be trouble for him later on).

Ben Elenbaas vs. Ken Mann for Position 2A
"Farmer Ben" Elenbaas provides great grassfed organic meat - we buy from him. However, he's also a Tea Party member and is currently serving on the County Planning Commission where he's pushing a controversial zoning change regarding slaughterhouses. The more moderate, left leaning Ken Mann is the clear choice here. This could be a tight race.

Michelle Luke vs. Carl Weimer for Position 3A
Michelle Luke is an extreme Tea Party candidate, and Carl Weimer has been the best county councilman in decades, and a very clear choice. Weimer said "You want to make sure that the people sitting in those seats believe in global warming" as a way to signal his position.

Bill Knutzen vs. Rud Browne for the At-Large Position
Rud Browne, founder of the progressively run business Ryzex: "I’m an environmentalist because I’ve seen the impact of poor environmental behavior as I saw the damage that was done on the community I grew up in. I’m running for County Council because we don’t have a choice between jobs and the environment, we need to have both or we will have neither.

Learn more at Whatcom Wins! 2013